Safety



2 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No Model.)

P. S. GUBRBER. SAFETY APPLIANCE FOR RAILWAYS.

N0. 365,003. ilatented June 14, 1887.

WITNEEEEE (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

- F. S. GUERBER.

SAFETY APPLIANCE FOR RAILWAYS.

No. 866,003. Patented June 14, 1887.

P'llb vm @6 Mu 0 m WITNEEEE'E hummno n her; Wabhingtan. D, C,

UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK S. GUERBER, OF ALLENTOYVN, PENNSYLVANIA.

SAFETY APPLIANCE FOR RAILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 365.003, dated June 14,1887.

(No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FREDERICK S. Gun nnnn,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Allentown, in the county ofLehigh and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Safety Appliances for Railways; and I do hereby declarethe following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, reference being bad to the ac companying drawings, which formpart ofthis specification, in whiclr- Figure 1 is a plan of arailway-track with my improvements applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a sideelevation, partly in section, oflever apparatus shown in plan in Fig. 1.Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan, partly in section, of track-instrument,spring appliance, and connections, and showing an adjoining rail. Fig. 4is a side elevation of track-instrument.

My invention has relation to safety appliances for railways.

l\Iyimproven1ents have for their object to provide a simplifiedconstruction and combination of interlocking appliances whereby safetyis secured, as hereinafter fully described and specifically claimed.

In two applications of even date herewith I have shown, respectively, atrack-instrument of novel construction and a combination comprising suchtrack-instrument, an interlocking apparatus, and a safety-bar with aweightedlever, a dogbar, and a separate connection therefor, whereby,after the track has been cleared, neither the switch nor switchlock canbe moved until a train has passed and effected an automatic unlocking.

My present improvements include the said track-instrument (or anequivalent therefor) and a lever apparatus for a switch and signal, aswell as a safety-bar, and provide a construc- 1 tion whereby a spring issubstituted for the siding; O, a switch to said siding; D, aswitchplock; E, a lever apparatus; F, a safety-bar, and L a signal post orstand, all of which parts may be of the usual or any suitableconstruction. Connections are made between said parts as shown, thelovers of the apparatus being connected as follows: lever 11 with thesignal on stand L by connection I; lever H with switch-lock byconnection I, and lever H with switch by connection I. The safetybar Fhas a connection, I, with a motion plate, F, in the connection I.

G is the track-instrument, which comprises abed-piece or base, 9, twoslides, gg, thereon, a lever, g, which forms a dog for said slide 9, andanother lever, g", which forms a connection between said slides. Thelever g is fulcrumed at g and has its tilting or rocking motion resistedin one direction by a spring, g, on a bolt, 9 which passes through saidlever. The slide 9' has a shoulder, g, by means of which the lever g"operates to dog said slide when said lever is in front (to the left inthe drawings) of said shoulder. The slide 1' is in the signatconnectiouI, and the slide g is in or attached to a connection, l' whose oppositeend is fastened to a lever, I, fulcrumcd at t and secured to thelock-connection I, so that said lover I will be thrown when thelock-connection is moved; or, conversely, theloclccon nection I cannotbe moved when said lever l is held fast against movement. I

K is a spring appliance in the connection 1 whereby the lever I is heldand released under certain conditions,hereinafter specified. Said springappliance comprises the following parts: a tube, L, a piston, it, fittedin said tube and having an end collar, If, a spiral or or cylinder 7;.

k is a collar secured to the piston between the collar 70" and the endor head k oflthe tube The limitation of the movement of the pistonin thetube is the distance between the collar 7c and head 70*.

Operation: To clear the main track, theconnection I must be moved in thedirection of arrow as by a movement of lever H, (the switch andswitch-lock having been previously duly put in position by levers H andH acting on connections I and 1'.) The movement of said connection Iimparts movement to lever g, and the latter moves slide until itsshoulder passes lever Zwhereupon the latter moves down in front of saidshoulder and prevents the return of said slide 9 until the lever g islifted, which will not occur until a passing car or engine strikes it.The movement of said slide produces a compression of the spring 75, theconnection I and lever 1 being rigidly'held. Now the connection I may befreely moved, (to change the signal from safety to danger, and

vice versa;) but the connection I cannot be moved at all, asit is heldby lever 1 connection I'fispring appliance K, slide and lever 9 Now,when a passing car or engine strikes the outer end of lever it raisesthe other arm of said lever high enough to enable slide to be moved bythe action of spring k", if the latter be free to act. It will not befree if the signal is set to safety, 'as then slide g bears againstlever gfland thereby prevents movement of slide g As soon, however, asthe signal is moved to danger, shoe 9 is free to move and spring is toexpand, and then, if lever g is tilted by a passing train or engine,shoulder moves beneath lever g and holds said lever in such positionthat it will not be struck by succeeding wheels. The switch-lock mightnow be unlocked were it v not for the safety-bar F, which, by itsconnection 1 prevents the switch-lock connection 1 from being moveduntil the passing car or, train has completely gone over or left saidsafety-bar. Now the switch-lock may be unlocked. To unlock theswitch-lock,the connection I is moved in the direction of arrow y,producing a movement of the piston is in the same direction, both ofsaid connections being fastened to the same lever, Hand on the same sideof its fulcrum. The pullof the lever I on the piston which .results frommovement of connection I to unlock the switch, compresses the spring70*, the piston is moving in the tube 70, the latter remainingstationary,

the lever g abutting against shoulder g of slide g. The result of thisis that the signal (now at danger) cannot be moved until the switch-lockis moved to the locked position, an interlocking thus taking placebetween the lock and signal,(apart from any interlocking which may beeffected by the apparatus E;) but as soon as the switch is locked (or inthe act of locking it) the spring k expands, giving liberty of movementto the con nection I and lever g.

the automatic releasing of this locking by the action of a train on thetrack-instrument after said connection I has been restored to its normalcondition, and which mechanism effects the further locking of theconnection I in its normal condition by movement of the connec tion Iafter thelatter has been released.

The lever 1 may be dispensed with and connection I connected directlywith connection I, said lever being employed to limit or reduce theextent of movement of connection 1.

switch-lock connection, of a spring appliance,

K, whereby the switch lock connection is locked when thesignal-connection is moved to clear the track and is so held until thesignal has been set to danger and the trackinstrument tripped by apassing train, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, with a main track, I

switch, switch-lock, and signal, of a lever apparatus, E, for movingsuch switch, switchlock, and signal, connections between saidapparatus,switch,sWitch-lock,andsignal,asafetybar, F, having aconnection with the switch: lock connection, a track-instrument, G, andintermediate connections between said trackinstrument and thesignalconnection and switch-lock connection, substantially as shown anddescribed. I

4. The combination, with a track-instrii Witnesses;

"VILLIAM HOWELL POWELL,

R. DALE SPARHAWK.

IIS

